1:1. The book of Zechariah begins by orienting its readers and hearers to its historical and theological contexts, and does this in the first instance through a dating formula (cf. 1:7; 7:1). Darius was the Persian king who succeeded Cambyses (reigned 530–522 BC) and Cyrus (reigned 559–530 BC). In 539 BC, Cyrus decreed that the Judean exiles in Babylonia could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple (cf. Ezra 1:1–4). However, an initial attempt to rebuild the temple came to a standstill
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